


The Fall of the Soul

by NightmairOdin



Category: Persona Series
Genre: Angels, Demons, Gen, Psychology, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-21
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-25 03:08:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3794389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightmairOdin/pseuds/NightmairOdin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>We always wonder why events happen, why people die... Why things are forgotten...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Dreamed...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Know this seems really short for a first chapter but It's a beginning for me.

We all Dream, but for some Dreams stick better than others. But some Dreams scare us, without being scary in the typical sense. Something about the Dream rattles us to our core, it disturbs us at such a level that we fail to comprehend why it scares us. It shows what we fear, but it conceals nothing, just the pure fear.  
There was darkness everywhere, yet there were lights in the distance. The lights were so faint that you almost missed them. As our Dreamer looked around in wonder the lights drew near. As the Lights got closer they realized they were Masks, yet they emitted light. As more mask showed up they area got brighter and brighter until it was almost unbearable. The masks surrounded the Dreamer, glaring light from all angles until there was a loud snap.  
With a loud thud the Dreamer awoke abruptly, having fell out of bed and shaking. He stood up and ruffled his Light brown hairs it look more manageable. He went out of his room and down his hall, the pastel floral wallpaper glowing in the morning sunlight. He entered his bathroom and instinctively proceeded to brush his shaggy hair. Everyone he knew told him he should cut it shorter like all the other boys but he never liked short hair. He put down the brush and switched it out for his toothbrush. As he was brushing his teeth he noticed his eyes were still shaking from the dream, he green irises duller than usual for a first day of school. He quickly finished brushing his teeth, running back to his room and noticing it was almost 0700. He quickly threw clothes on, oddly enough black jeans and a Queen t-shirt. Grabbing his backpack he ran through the kitchen on his way out. His parents worked in Kansas City so they had left earlier leaving a box of Blueberry Pop Tarts on the counter for their son. He grabbed a pack and rushed outside, sprinting to the sidewalk he saw other middle schoolers walking so he calmed down a little. at least now he knew he would be arriving on time his first day. Lone Oak was a small town, but had four school buildings. A preschool and kindergarten combination, an elementary, a junior high and a high school.  
Naturally a fast walker he managed to pass other students. They were filing into the schools courtyard looking around at the other students. He looked for the spot for his homeroom teacher, Mrs. Young, he saw a small handful of students sitting around a table with her name on it. He slowly made his way to the table, having just moved to Lone Oak he knew nobody of his age. As he silently sat down and looked at his classmate he was reminded of the dream, he shook it off. "It was just a nonsensical dream..." he softly told himself, hoping he could believe in his words.  
"HI, you're new here right?" a girl in a bright red t-shirt lurched across the table. Her blonde hair was piled on top of her hair, held up by a large purple scrunchie.  
"Argh!" he threw himself back from the table. Stumbling to get up off the ground he nodded to confirm. "Nathan Miles, we just moved here earlier this month..." he took of his backpack, “...didn’t your family teach you not to surprise people?” Nathan shook his head, letting his hair settle back down.  
“Oh, yeah I’m told that a lot. My name’s Tiffany, I’m sure the others will like you.” Tiffany smiled brightly, she seemed friendly enough.  
Nathan looked around at his classmates, there were about fifteen students not counting himself. As he looked over at the school he noticed a group of three teachers, one was blindfolded but seemed to be fine with it. The female had two grey streaks in her black hair, covering her ears, that helped frame her face. In the time he was staring the third teacher had said nothing. a younger woman, with big brown hair and a pointed face was walking towards the table.  
"Good morning class, I'm Mrs. Young. Please follow me, nice and orderly now." Her voice was quite crisp and to the point. The group got up and formed a line, with Nathan at the rear, and headed into the school building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel Free to Interact, I am Looking to create a semblance of a community. Comments are appreciated, it will help me hone the story as well as help cover certain things I might not be explaining enough


	2. I Panicked

Following Mrs. Young to the classroom the class was quick to find their seats. Nathan was seated in the very middle of the room, in the third seat from the front and both sides. Mrs. Young noticed that all the other classmates seemed to know each other, being a small town it was no surprise. “So as some may noticed we are joined with the school’s newest student, would you mind introducing yourself?”  
Nathan flinched, he was always very reserved around new people. Taking a moment to collect himself he stood up, “ My name is Nathan Miles, I moved here with my parents from Georgia. My mother works at Menorah Medical Center in Kansas City, and my father is helping an old friend of his start a brewing company in Kansas City.” Nathan quickly sat down, hoping the attention would be pulled off of him now. He managed to sit on the edge of his chair, toppling over out of his desk. Nathan knew he had to be beet red with how embarrassed he felt.   
Mrs. Young laughed, “now Nathan, there’s no need to be embarrassed about being new. Which reminds me, we have some new teachers this year as well, the Band teacher is Mr. Les, don’t think you can get away with anything since he is blind. The Music teacher is Mrs. Dona, she’s deaf but she is still excellent at reading lips and body language. And then the Art teacher is Mr. Akuma, I haven’t had the pleasure to talk to him. Although the three of them seem misplaced please do make them feel welcome.” Mrs. Young sat down at her desk and pick up a small pile of papers, “now our first assignment will be for you to fill out some questions and we will share in about twenty minutes.” She passed out the papers to the class.  
After the papers were filled the spent the next two hours talking about the classmates. Nathan noticed that his classmates liked to talk extensively about themselves, and his answers were rather short. ‘What is one interesting fact about your family?’ the other classmates said things like they were 3 generations away from their immigrant ancestors or they had a farm with so many animals. Nathan’s fact was that his families had been chased out of Europe because of their insanity. ‘Where is your favorite spot to have vacation?’ these answers were all over the map, but Nathan was the only one who said the ocean beach. Trips to the beach for Nathan were the only times he really spent time with his family. The longer they spent on these questions the shorter his answers got, he knew the real schoolwork would start on the second day. Nathan zoned out while Mrs. Young talked about herself at the very end and was startled back into reality when the lunch bell rang. He followed his class to the cafeteria to get food and then they walked outside to an eating space behind the school with lots of flowering trees.  
As he ate with his classmate there was a disaster waiting to happen, high above them. There was a Lockhead F-117 Nighthawk flying by on its way to Whiteman Air Force Base. one of the holdings for a BLU-109 Bomb had gotten loosened and as the Nighthawk flew over the school it dropped the bomb.  
Nathan was sitting on the grass watching the sky over where his classmates were running around, they had some time left after they finished eating. He stood up as he noticed something falling and began running. Thoughts raced through his head, ‘what are you going to do?’ ‘Just die with them?’ “I have to do something… anything…” Everyone had ran towards him when they saw him move, he noticed by now that what was falling was most likely some sort of an explosive. Nathan’s adrenaline rushed through him, they were all going to die.  
There was a giant snapping noise, and Nathan clutched his head, it felt as if it was splitting open. While his eyes were still open he saw a form start to appear. The form was much taller than any of them and it’s surface glistened white, bright blue fabric draped over giant muscles. It was humanoid, and its arms held a giant sphere, balanced on it’s shoulders. It stood over the class, preparing itself for when the bomb would hit. The bomb hit the sphere and was suspended inside of it before it exploded, the sphere not budging in the slightest. Nathan fell to his knees as the form started to fade, he fell forward onto the grass he heard a voice say, “I am Atlas, I shall protect and support those who need…” Nathan’s world went black as he lost consciousness. The form faded away as Nathan’s classmates looked up in awe and fear of what could have happened.  
Mrs. Dona had witnessed it all and ran to Nathan as Mr. Les showed up, “Go fetch Nurse!” Her voice was high pitched and vibrant, yet it boomed as she spoke. “The rest of you need to get back to your class, we will take care of him.” She watched Nathan’s classmates shakily walk back inside the building. She knew that since the only windows were at the door she was the only witness other than those involved.  
As Nathan opened his eyes he could hear an opera singer, “w-wh-what?” he looked around but he knew he was in the nurse’s office.  
“HA, He’s awake… Beladona you may stop.” The Nurse, Victor, smirked, his scarred face distorting.  
Nathan looked over at where the song was coming from, he saw Mrs. Dona putting her arms down. The back half of the office was sterile White, but the front where there were people Nathan could not yet recognize was draped in a blue velvet. “ugh…” Nathan grasped his head, ”...what happened?”  
Victor chuckled, “well, you managed to manifest a Persona… and at such a young age, quite remarkable…”  
Mr. Akuma approached Nathan, with a card in hand. Outstretching his arm he handed the card to Nathan, the artwork on the card was amazing, every intricate detail clearly defined. It was an image of the figure that appeared before he blacked out, on the very bottom it said “XII ATLAS”.  
Nathan took the card and looked it over, “what is this?” It was like looking at the figure in real life, but such photographs were impossible.  
Mr. Les walked towards him, managing to maneuver around Mr. Akuma flawlessly. “That is a persona card, it is of your initial inner power. Granted calling on such a power takes a severe toll on your body if the conditions aren’t proper.”  
“However, in calling him out you have put you and your friends in a situation… but luckily we are here to help with these kinds of things...” Mrs. Dona’s voice was much softer now, but it still had a strange force to it. “... no doubt you have questions but I’m sure they will be answered in due time. Your parents have been contacted, however…”  
“They are unable to pick me up until late… so it’s best if I just suck it up and go to class…” Nathan sighed, “its the same old story.”  
“Yes, except for Victor is going to allow us to escort you home, you live less than a mile away and we aren’t actually teaching today.” Mrs. Dona smiled gently, “We only wish for you to accept the consequences of your actions. To their fullest extent, you will find that life here is going to become difficult. You are a dreamer, and have a strong desire to help.”  
The three teachers assisted Nathan in preparing, Mr. Les having fetched Nathan’s backpack while Nathan was unconscious. Mr. Akuma silently led the way keeping an eye out for anything that could cause trouble. Nathan walked between Mr. Les and Mrs. Dona, wanting to ask questions, but feeling too uncomfortable.  
“Don’t worry, Akuma may not be able to talk but he has sharp eyes and you’ve seen his art on the card. Although coming from me it seems unlikely. I chose to stop seeing the world, so that I could help it more. Belladonna may be deaf but, she can sense things most would never notice…” Mr. Les smirked, “you can call me Nameless outside of the classroom. I used to have a name but I found it unnecessary just like my vision.” Nameless laughed it off.  
Nameless and Belladonna rambled back and forth on the walk and made sure Nathan got inside his house safely. Nathan threw his stuff down and crawled into bed, he was exhausted from everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel Free to Interact, I am Looking to create a semblance of a community. Comments are appreciated, it will help me hone the story as well as help cover certain things I might not be explaining enough


	3. The Nose

Nathan rubbed his eyes, the first thing he noticed was he was sitting upright. as he opened his eyes and looked around. There was the same opera singing filling the air. As his eyes focused he saw varying shades of blue velvet draping over everything. The ceiling was a clear glass dome, revealing thousands upon thousands of stars. There were sixteen tall backed armchairs, all blue velvet. Above Nathan’s head on the back of the chair a golden XII had been carved into a wood plaque. None of the other chairs were marked, and empty, with the only people in the room were in the very center gathered around a small table.  
Nathan got up and walked towards them, they were three relatively tall men. The shortest of the three, was older, balding with wild long white hair around the sides, pointed ears, bulging eyes with wild black eyebrows. As Nathan grew closer to them, he noticed the most noticeable feature was his long hooked nose. The tallest was dressed in a white suit with bright blue accents, his long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. His face was completely covered with a white mask with butterfly wings painted on the sides. The third man was clearly six feet tall, his tanned skin contrasting with the paleness of his comrades. His brown hair was just long enough to fall in front of his baby blue eyes that seemed to glow. His black shirt was tight on him, revealing strong muscles that added to his intimidating look, however his jeans showed plenty of wear. He was rather young looking yet he seemed to know more than he should.  
The tanned man was the first to turn directly to Nathan, “ah, so this is the first one to awaken...” His gaze looked over Nathan and a smirk grew across his face, “you remind me of an old acquaintance… Tell me Igor, what fate is in store for him?” His voice was deep yet gentle, as if he knew Nathan was frightened.  
The masked one put a hand on the older one, “go ahead, tell us, what is it the cards hold for this child?” A deck of cards fell from his sleeve, shuffling themselves as they floated to the table, splitting into three piles.  
The older one jerked, almost unaccustomed to moving, and with continuous jerking motions he held his hands over the table. One card from each stack flipped over, “The Tower, Three of Swords, Nine of Cups…” The words tumbling out, as if he was not practiced in speaking, “...he will be a lifelong guest” Closing his hands the cards merged, revealing a card similar to Atlas’.  
“Good Igor,” the masked one picked up the card, “a crucified clock… hm, this will be interesting to see how this persona develops and emerges…” The card fell onto the table splitting back into three. “My name is Philemon, Igor here is my newest assistant, You have met the others… You have awakened to a long kept power… Yet you were not near demons... Your will to protect is strong and will lead you to an interesting Fate…” Philemon spoke in fragments his speech breaking apart.  
“You may call me Dr. L…” he looked over into a corner where a little girl had been standing, yet Nathan had never noticed her. “That is my ward, Jubi… No doubt you have many questions but our time is short…”  
Jubi had approached Nathan, “Look, we’ll be talking to you more later… when you get to school just come to the office.” Despite being a young child, she was straight to the point and did not enjoy dancing around a subject. Her black hair braided into two tails that covered her shoulders, she was wearing a simple summer dress. “There’s no point in talking about what you’ve witnessed to anyone, they won’t believe you…” She had walked Nathan to his chair, “go ahead and sit, they forget you’re human and actually need to sleep…” She forced Nathan into the chair and he started to drift off.  
Nathan awoke with a startle, his alarm blaring. He managed to get up and shut it off, what had happened still fresh in his mind. He gathered clothes and a towel, hopping in the shower. As he rinsed the shampoo from his hair he noticed blood coming out of his hair. “I still have no idea what has happened since lunch yesterday.” After getting out of the shower he put on a bright green shirt and blue jeans. Slipping on his shoes and backpack he stepped outside, a woman in a red skirt and blazer over a white blouse circling the large ash tree in his yard.  
Her pin straight black hair flowed around her face as she paced. “Ah, you’re awake, good. Dr. L will be ready when we get there.” She approached Nathan, her thick black framed glasses on the tip of her nose. “Let us go Nathan…” she pushed her glasses back up, never breaking eye contact.  
Nathan was startled, “Um, excuse me?” Sure he felt as if he had seen her before but he did not expect anyone to escort him to school. At least nobody he was unfamiliar with.  
“Just call me Ms. Lee,” she took Nathan’s hand and practically dragged him to the school. She unlocked the office and led Nathan to a large wooden door. As she opened the door she chuckled, “don’t look so confused… things will make sense shortly.”  
As Nathan walked in he noticed there was a large desk in front of a window with an older man sitting in the chair. “Ah, Nathan, welcome to my office,” the voice was firm and deep. “You must have some questions, I am indeed Dr. L. You’ve already seen Jubi on this side as well…” he smirked and motioned for Nathan to sit down.  
Nathan pulled up a chair and sat down, “but, how?” He realized that he did recognize Jubi as Ms. Lee only she was older.  
“Well the Velvet Room is different from this world… there we appear as we are, but here we are older due to our actual age…” Dr. L leaned forward, “now I must ask that you keep your classmates safe, for the world is about to face a new darkness it hasn’t seen for eons…” Dr. L looked at his clock, “although we don’t have time to chat further, enjoy your classes today…” Dr. L escorted Nathan to his door, with a few words they said goodbye and Nathan walked off to class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel Free to Interact, I am Looking to create a semblance of a community. Comments are appreciated, it will help me hone the story as well as help cover certain things I might not be explaining enough


	4. The Sun will Rise

The shrill ringing of the end of school bell snapped Nathan out of his daze. He was mentally tired still from the events overnight. He grabbed his notebook and noticed the mindless doodles he had been making during the class. Interlocking gears covered the margins of his page, very few actual notes had been written. He shut the notebook and put it away with his pencils.

“NATHAN!” Tiffany’s voice pierced his thoughts and he jumped away before looking at her. She had pale blue jeans and a purple top on. Her hair was back up in the ponytail on top of her hair with a red scrunchie, her bright green eyes glimmered with excitement.

“Sheesh… you nearly scared me to death…” Nathan recomposed himself and continued to pack his belongings away. 

“Well you weren’t responding so… but anyways, my parents are coming back into town, and was thinking you could use the socialization…” Tiffany’s smile was as bright as ever.

“Oh, sorry…” with Nathan’s parents’ jobs they would be home late so he had time to hang out. “Uh… sure…” he slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out of the class with Tiffany.

“So where is your family from? My mother’s family originally came from Egypt; my father’s family came from England but that was long ago” Tiffany bounced as she walked through the hallway and out of the school with Nathan.

“Oh, uh… I’m pretty sure both sides came from Germany… We don’t talk ancestry much… We don’t talk much anyways…” Nathan’s voice kept trailing off every time he thought of his family.

“Oh? Don’t your parents ever ask you about school or just want to talk?” Tiffany was still as happy as ever even though such a family dynamic confused her.

“Um… no, we never get to talk…” Nathan’s voice trailed off and he quickly had to snap his attention back to the conversation. “My parents work near constantly so there’s very few times we really interact… Moving up here I feel like we aren’t really going to do much for the holidays…” Family has always been an awkward subject for Nathan. His parent’s had been distant from as long as he remembered. His parents’ had been told that Nathan had been too intelligent to receive federally funded Preschool, he could remember the look of exasperation they had when looking for someone to watch him. 

When Nathan snapped out of his daze, they had made it almost to the bus station. Tiffany had tilted her head, her hair blowing in the gentle breeze from the west. Nathan shivered as the breeze passed by him. Something felt wrong about the road today.

“You sure do daze out often…” looking up the road she could see the bus on the horizon. “That’s them! They’re almost home again!” Tiffany got excited and was trembling, business had called them away but now they were returning.

Nathan noticed a snap of blue and orange around the bus, and it started to skid out of control. Nathan flinched at the sound of metal at asphalt, being unable to react to get to Atlas. If he was unable to summon they were as good as dead, as well as the passengers.

“No! Mom! Dad!” Tiffany had panicked instantly; her family was everything to her. Losing them would leave her lost in the world. She buckled under the anxiety, collapsing to the ground. The bus was swerving all over the road as it approached them.

Nathan collapsed in a panic attack, her saw blood dripping onto the ground and looked up. Dark brown mottled fur filled his vision but as his vision cleared he saw hooves digging into the asphalt, the bus screeching to a halt. The new figure slumped unto the ground, dissolving into a card in front of Nathan. He could now recognize the figure; it had been a Minotaur, the card titled ‘XI-MINOTAUR’ glowing in front of him. Nathan finally collapsed onto the concrete sidewalk.

“Nathan! Oh God he’s bleeding from his head…” Tiffany had rushed over to his unconscious body and remembered the Bus. “No… They’re hurt too…” the stress was all too much on Tiffany, and all of a sudden her head felt as if it was splitting open.

“I art thou, Joy is to be shared the world, not suffering.” A woman stepped over to Nathan, she laid her hand on his head and when she lifted it a gel had been spread on his wound. She turned fully to Tiffany revealing the rest of her appearance; her face was very similar to an Abyssinian cat. A smile spread over her face as she turned towards the bus and entered it. 

Nathan regained consciousness as the woman stepped out of the bus. Her skin was lightly tanned, free of any blemishes. The fur of her face seamlessly blended with her skin on her chest. Her white tunic fluttered in the breeze as she slowly started to fade. “Another Persona?” he looked around for another card but found nothing.

Tiffany had ended up passing out away from Nathan. He grabbed the Minotaur card and pocketed it. As he walked towards Tiffany he saw the shimmering blue glow of a card in her hand. As he turned to look at the bus Belladonna, Nameless, and Mr. Akuma walked over and Nameless picked up Tiffany.

“Seems like we arrived just in time, Akuma go check the bus…” Belladonna lead Nameless over to a bench away from the wreckage and began to sing. The notes resonated through the still air, vibrating into Nathan’s head.

Nathan recognized the song now; it was the song he heard in Victor’s office and in the Velvet Room. “What is this song and why is she singing?” Nathan looked to Nameless; with her eyes closed Belladonna was completely oblivious to his question.

“Ah, this is the Aria of the Soul…” Nameless chuckled as her sat Tiffany on the bench, “… she is repairing her soul and psyche. Initially summoning a persona can severely harm one’s being. She will be able to summon personas on her own, as well summon other Arcana such you did with Minotaur…” Nameless moved his head as if he was surveying the damage, “you’re quite the box of surprises, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean?” Nathan flinched as he felt a poke in his side and turned to see Mr. Akuma. He held out another card, the face where a persona would be was blank besides the faint mark of the Hanged Man in the background. “Um… its blank…”

“Ah, It’s a Creating card…” Nameless chuckled, “quite the rarity, keep the card it should form a Persona when you need it. And you won’t have to worry about all the bleeding and headaches…”

Nathan pocketed the card, “why does it hurt so much to summon?” Nathan rubbed his head; there was still a numb pain now that he thought about it.

“Well because Minotaur isn’t your arcana it hurts more to project him, with Atlas, he was your first persona summoning. When you summon more Hanged Man it will get easier to do, as for other Arcana, it’s best you make friends…” Nameless turned towards Belladonna as she finished singing.

“She shall be safe… Nathan leave the rest to us, we will make sure that everyone gets home safely… please go home, you shall be called in tonight with Tiffany.” Nathan nodded and turned to walk back to his house, the fatigue catching up with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel Free to Interact, I am Looking to create a semblance of a community. Comments are appreciated, it will help me hone the story as well as help cover certain things I might not be explaining enough


	5. The Sun Shines

As Nathan became aware of his senses he knew where he was, The Velvet Room. When he was able to open his eyes and looked around, nothing had changed, save for a chair a ways away from him had been marked with XIX. Currently it was unoccupied, Igor sitting in the middle of the room at the table. Nathan got up and walked to Igor, ready to ask questions.

“Our other guest shall join us soon…” Igor’s words were very straight to the point. “The Trio should be arriving shortly, please refer to them any questions.” Igor’s voice started to become choppy, still unaccustomed to being used.

“Ah, Nathan…” Belladonna’s voice boomed throughout the room, startling Nathan. “Ah, yes…” her voice got softer, ”I forget about the acoustic properties of this room.” She led the Trio to the table, it slowly elongating to fit the 5 off them.

Nameless took a seat on the other side of the table away from Nathan. “It seems that Tiffany has yet to join us… Akuma put them down…” Akuma had started to place 3 figurines on the table.

Nathan recognized the first figurine as Minotaur. The second figure was of the Cat woman that had been at the bus crash, although it felt as if it was fused to the table. Nathan could easily move and pick up Minotaur and the third figurine with no hassle. As he looked at the third figurine he realized it was Atlas.

“You probably noticed that you couldn’t move Bast but the others you can move the others.” Nameless smirked, “because Bast is Tiffany’s personal Persona only she can manipulate her. Just as Atlas can only be moved by you, and Minotaur can be moved by anyone.” Another foundation was placed on the table by Akuma, “and that will be the Persona you call out… Or someone got excited and crafted an extra foundation…” Akuma glared at Nameless as Nameless chuckled.

Nathan looked over to the chair that had been marked with the XIX, a blotch of red and orange had appeared and slowly Tiffany materialized. Her outfit was plain pajamas with a red top and orange pants with flame design. Her hair fell loose behind her back, reaching about halfway down. Nathan had never looked down at himself; he was wearing loose fitting pajamas as well. The design was simple black and navy waves with golden ropes sprawling out from the arm and leg openings. He knew he did not own such an outfit, so he was curious.

Tiffany rubbed her eyes sleepily, “uh…” she looked around the room dazed by the details. “What the?” she got out of the chair and looked around more. She eventually saw Nathan and the others and approached them. “Nathan? You’re here? What is this place? It feels so real…”

“Dr. L called it The Velvet Room… so I assume that’s what we should call it as well… I came here the night after that incident at lunch…” Nathan looked to the others for help explaining the situation.

“Oh yeah, that was cool” Tiffany saw the look of confusion on Nathan’s face. “What? It was! All of a sudden you’re running towards us and that giant appeared and caught the bomb and safely exploded it…” she was way too giddy to be describing a near death situation, bouncing as she walked towards him.

“WE ALMOST DIED!” Nathan was shocked, he knew she was quite optimistic but this was a whole new disturbing level to him.

“Oh…. WAIT WHAT?” Tiffany grew red as she realized the actuality of what happened, stopping in her tracks. “But then what about the Bus? It Was out of control but everything turned out fine… Well there was that bull thingy and the cat lady…”

Nathan was stunned, he had never dealt with anyone so positive, “if it wasn’t for Minotaur the bus would have killed us and probably everyone else on board…” Nathan shook his head, eyes closed; when he opened them again Tiffany was at the table playing with the Persona figurines.

“Oh so this one is Minotaur…” she had picked him up and spun him around looking at the features, ”oh, then what about this one? She was there… she put this weird goo on your head and went into the bus…”

Belladonna gently pushed Nathan down onto a chair by the table, “That is Bast, she was awakened from within you…” Belladonna moved to where she could see Tiffany’s face clearly. “She was born your desire to help people and your sheer optimism that pain is temporary.” She smiled softly, “You may call me Belladonna outside of school, you know Akuma and Nameless as well…”

Nameless stepped forward, “this room exists between Dreams and Reality… so while you are asleep at home, your consciousness is here, thus the feeling of everything being real… Nathan, you may return to sleep…”

“Okay…” Nathan was glad he could let them explain to Tiffany, but then he remembered he had a question. “Oh there was a flash of orange and light blue before the Bus spun out of control…”

Akuma put up his hand to stop Nathan from talking and held up two figurines. One was mostly white with blue boots, hat and a collar. It smiling brightly, almost friendly but had a mischievous look to it. The other floated above the foundation, a smiling Jack-o-lantern with a blue floppy witch hat and cloak holding a lantern. Akuma placed them on the table and there were two clicks that echoed in Nathan’s head.

“Ah, the Jack Brothers… We managed to contain them after you left… they’re not usually so mean spirited, but they were fresh demons…” Belladonna looked at the figurines, “the bus must’ve drove a hellhole and they hitched a ride… and well, got bored…” Belladonna smiled, reassuring Nathan everything would be fine.

As Nathan sat down and closed his eyes he started to fade into a dream. The last thing he could make of The Velvet Room was Igor’s voice, “ Third card The Death…”

Nathan shot up in bed, a Jack Frost flying into the wall; it got up and sat on the corner of Nathans desk. His alarm clock was thrown across the floor, he picked up the doll of Jack Frost, the cold air of his room freezing against his sweat drenched skin. The doll flopped lifelessly even though Nathan saw it move on its own. The door of his room flying open and Akuma standing with a clock that threw Nathan into a panic, he had barely enough time left to run to school if he left.

Nathan and Akuma ran out the door and were stopped by a brand new red Ford Thunderbird, the passenger door flew open and Jubi motioned for them to get in. They sped off to the school, “well you are up late… A nightmare it seems? Belladonna couldn’t reach you through the Dream Song…”

Nathan was still shaking; he had managed to put a green T-shirt and jeans on. “Yeah… it…. Was bad…. I… I don’t even…. Know what happened…” He tried to look back on it but all he did was shake more and want to vomit. The car slid into a parking space and Nathan’s stomach lurched.

Jubi put her hand on his, “don’t focus on it, everything will be fine…” With her words Nathan’s mind was at ease, he also stopped shaking as well. “If things get bad again come to the office… everyone is worried since you awakened first…”

Nathan nodded and stepped out of the car with Akuma and headed to his homeroom. He could tell it was going to be a long day, and the nightmare would haunt him. Belladonna had caught him on his way.

“Oh you’re here… good, did Akuma’s doll help?” Belladonna’s voice was full of concern, but she calmed down as Nathan nodded. “If you have problems waking up the doll will wake you up. Don’t push yourself, you need to relax, let your friends help you…” Belladonna walked him to class and rushed off. Nathan took a deep breath to collect himself before entering the classroom, he had to stay strong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel Free to Interact, I am Looking to create a semblance of a community. Comments are appreciated, it will help me hone the story as well as help cover certain things I might not be explaining enough


	6. The Madness

Nathan was barely able to get through his morning classes and ate lunch outside with Tiffany. He sat down and started to mess with the food on is plate. The nightmare had been draining him all day, even though he tried to keep his mind off of it.

Tiffany tilted her head and looked at Nathan, “are you okay?” She had noticed he was dazed throughout the morning classes.

Another of their classmates approached them, Nathan looked up as he approached. He was wearing a dark blue t-shirt and light blue jeans. His hair was black and cut short, his eyes were a piercing grey. “So the new kid, has finally realized what has happens when you get here…”

“Shut it Daniel, Nathan didn’t cause anything… he was just at the right place at the wrong time…” Tiffany was irked; Daniel was generally a loner but always managed to anger people when he opened his mouth.

“First the bomb incident and then bus accident yesterday? Lone Oak was nice and quiet until he moved in, people were just starting to shut up about his family moving in…” Daniel hated the excess amount of talking whenever someone moved into the town.

“Grr… Just stop talking!” Tiffany was angry now, he had no right to attack Nathan.

“Tiffany it’s fine… let him state his opinion, he’s not bothering me.” Nathan shivered as a sharp pain rushed through his brain.

“But it’s not true!” Tiffany wanted to stand up for Nathan, nobody should be bullied like this. She jumped and shrieked as a giant needle landed right in front of Nathan, nearly impaling him.

“Ugh…” Nathan’s head was pounding. The needle was almost twice as tall as Nathan. The top of the pin was a giant black opal, with cracks filled with white.

“What the heck?” Daniel fell back onto the ground, terror filling his eyes as something landed on the table and picked up the pin.

The figure was tall and skinny, proportions slightly out of order. On his head was a top hat, tilted with pins sticking out of it in all directions. Blood red hair flowed out of the hat, uncontrolled and floating off in all directions yet never crossing the face. The face was a pure white with silver lines that made it look like a mask. To add to the mask like features the eyes glowed like a flashlight shining through an emerald and a permanent smile. The smile was twisted and showed a level of madness that instilled terror. A long coat hanged off the shoulders, with even more pins sticking out all over. A shrill cackle escaped from the smile, the razor sharp teeth only separating slightly. It moved in shaking manner, almost robotic and jerking.

Nathan managed to push himself away from the table, a different pin slamming into where he had been sitting. He crawled away from the table, but another pin ended up slammed in front of him.

Daniel could barely believe what he was seeing and he could feel his panic rising. He heard a loud snap within his head as a large red tiger with white stripes leaped out at the figure. The tiger took down the figure easily, it’s body disappearing every time a pin tried to impale it.

Dr. L and Victor burst through the door, Victor ran to Nathan and injected him with a syringe. “Just barely made it… Dr. L get rid of Hatter”

Dr. L slammed a cane into the taller figure, shattering it into pieces before it disappeared. He smirked as he turned to the tiger.  
The tiger faded, reappearing over Daniel, growling at Dr. L who just laughed at its attempt to scare him.

Bast had appeared and ran to Nathan who had fainted from the injection. She proceeded to check and heal the minor wounds he had sustained. Tiffany stood back, trying to not to get in the way.

“Dr. L leave Cheshire alone, I’m going to need help to get him to the office… It will return to the Hermit’s psyche soon enough…” Victor picked up Nathan and headed to the door, Dr. L opening and walking with Victor to the office.

Daniel watched as Cheshire faded and appeared beside him, “what the heck just happened here?”

Tiffany nervously laughed as Bast faded out of existence. “Well, it’s a long story… I’m not sure what happened with… Hatter?” Tiffany was still trying to process what had happened, “I’m not really the best at explaining this, I just got Bast yesterday at the bus accident… Oh, maybe the Velvet Room will summon you tonight.” Tiffany could only hope that the Velvet Room would call him in to explain. They needed to hurry to get back to class before they were late.

Dr. L let Victor into the Nurse’s office and sealed the door before returning to his office, Belladonna and Nameless had been waiting. A piano had been set up in the corner of the room, Nameless approached it and sat down as Nathan was placed on the nearby bed. Nameless got situated, checking which keys produced what notes. 

Belladonna turned to Victor, “did you really use the Persona Suppressant? Philemon really doesn’t know what it would do…”

Victor shook his head, “ I had to, Mad Hatter had escaped him… And was actively trying to harm him, if not kill him…” He sighed, “None of those Persona are very stable, do we know who the Hermit is? He called out Cheshire Cat…”

Belladonna shook her head, “if he just called out Cheshire than no, we will call to him tonight… it seems Nameless is ready…”

They all stood back from Nathan and Nameless, staying as quiet as possible. Nameless started to play a Sonata, for the first few measures the notes flowed gracefully. Nathan’s body was glowing a light blue as Nameless played. Suddenly the key changed and the notes started to jumble together as he played further. Nameless suddenly stood back from the piano, cutting the sonata short. “That is… bad… Belladonna you will have quite some work ahead of you… His soul is damaged… but it seems like he has permanent damage that was there before…”

“So the damage is hereditary? His ancestors were quite mad from what I’ve seen through him…” Belladonna had been staring at Nathan’s body that was still slightly glowing. “He’s the strongest Philemon’s seen in a long time… But it comes at the price of his sanity…” Belladonna felt bad since only children were awakening to Persona.

“Belladonna, don’t get attached, you know what Dr. L said…” Victor shook his head, he knew better but he still felt attached to the kids in the school. And Victor had agreed to help willingly, without Dr. L he would still be on the streets. “I do wish that wouldn’t be an outcome but if all Hell breaks lose then unfortunately people will die…” Victor shivered, “You two are lucky, you don’t need to worry about death like the rest of us…”

Nameless chuckled, “it’s not as easy for us, we still worry about becoming puppets again. We were needed sooner than Igor was, so we were given a new life. So we could serve outside the Velvet Room.” Nameless stood by Belladonna, “death would be lucky for us, for puppets we merely don’t exist until we are needed…”

Victor had written up a note to give to Nathan’s parents, “So who wants to deliver this note?” 

The door flew open and Jubi walked in, “I will take it, gods know they’ll be expecting someone more professional…” She closed the door, “as for you two, you might want to get to class…” She shooed Belladonna and Nameless out, “now Victor remember the deal the Dr. made with you…”

Victors voice was sharp with irritation, “I know the rules of the deal… and I know I’m not to get attached to any of them… But you don’t deal with him like we do, he’s got this air of charisma… and it’s disturbing…”

“I DON’T CARE FOR EXCUSES! There will be penalties if you fail to uphold the deal…” Jubi glared at Nathan’s body, ”…Don’t fall for false leaders…” she turned and stormed out of the office.

“Sheesh, what is with her? She sure doesn’t like Nathan… Yet, is he our advantage?” Victor put on glasses with crimson lenses that Dr. L had given him for his job. He scanned over Nathan, stopping at his heart where a glyph glowed within Nathan’s body, “Wait, that’s the glyph for… “He ran to his cabinet and pulled out a old book and flipped through looking for the glyph.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel Free to Interact, I am Looking to create a semblance of a community. Comments are appreciated, it will help me hone the story as well as help cover certain things I might not be explaining enough


	7. The Angel Rise

Nathan was floating in a vast expanse of darkness, he was unsure if he had been killed or if he was just dreaming again. He felt nothing around him, although he could feel a pulling force behind his back. He struggled to rotate his body but eventually the pulling force was below his feet. Nathan’s legs shook as they touched an invisible platform, he looked around for any signs of something else, but everywhere he looked he saw black yet he could see his own body clearly. “What the? How am I the only think with color?”

There was a chuckle from behind him and Nathan spun around, almost losing his balance. There was a man standing there, his pale skin glaring against the black world around them. His icy blue eyes gleamed from under the man’s shaggy golden blond hair.

“Ah, so you’re the one HE’S afraid of? You’re just a child…” His gaze drifted to Nathan’s chest, “… ah, but you have that power… although it has yet to be awakened… Curious…” His voice was soft and warm, almost too comforting.

“Who are you? And where am I?” Nathan was tense, something was wrong with this man. Everything about him seemed to draw you in and that scared Nathan.

“Ah, I won’t bother with a silly Pseudonym… My name is one you’ve no doubt heard before… I am the Adversary… YHWH’s most trusted Angel…” He smirked as he talked, “Although you are Arrogant to God… yet you don’t seem to notice that…”

“Wait… You’re Satan?” Nathan was still tense; if Satan was still an angel then he was safe, for now.

“So you do know something… You see… YHWH has lost interest in the humans and is trying to release a being to make their end… However the other deities aren’t so thrilled on the aspect…”

“Wait, so are we just some toy to him?” Nathan knew deities who would play with humans, but to go so far as to bring about the end of humans was a new level. “Did he not think that others would oppose him?”

“Basically, without anyone to keep him under control he’s gotten rather power hungry,” Satan smirked. Nathan was easy to lead, “but with how there are rumors of his ex-‘wife’ running about he’s interested in tracking her down…” Satan touched Nathan’s forehead, breaking Nathan’s train of thought. “Oh how… Ironic? Lets go with that…”

Nathan shook his head trying to gather his thoughts, “What was that?” Satan was toying with him now, and Nathan’s guard was up.

“Oh just curious what your persona will evolve into… Philemon has quite the talent…” Satan ran his hand through his hair, the golden locks almost shimmering in the blackness. “I’m not here to harm you, in fact I’m trying to help… you see, this is a place similar to limbo, although since you’re not dead you can’t enter limbo…” he chuckled, throwing Nathan on edge. “Do say hello to my old friend L for me… it’s been too long since we talked… You’ll see him soon enough…” In a flash of white feathers Satan had disappeared, leaving merely an echo, “Don’t die on me Arrogant One…”

Nathan’s body jerked, Victor, Jubi, Dr. L, Nameless, and Belladonna had gathered in Dr. L’s manor to attend to Nathan’s recovery. “Ah yes, he should be coming back to us, his vitals are rising to normal levels…” Victor was grinning, he had been able to keep Nathan alive long enough for Nathan to heal.

“Ah, I can hear it… He seems like he’s alright… there are still some irregularities but they seem to be permanent…” Nameless played out the Soul Sonata from Nathan’s soul in the air.

“We should give him time after he wakes up though…”Belladonna stared at Nathan, reading his Psyche, “I can’t tell what happened to him”

“Ugh…” Nathan slowly blinked his eyes open, the transition from that world of black to the real world was startling to say the least.

“Oh good, he’s alive…” Jubi’s tone was harsh, “now can they take him home? He’s overstayed his welcome…” The irritation in her voice was matched in her facial expressions.

“Now, now Jubi, he has nothing to do with that persona yet… besides, it’s unfair to treat him so inhospitably…” Dr. L Smirked seeing the agitation twist around Jubi’s face. 

“Dr. L? … Oh, ouch…” Nathan rubbed his temples, “an old friend wanted to say hello…” Nathan needed to stop thinking, the more he thought the worse he felt.

The gentle smile that had been gracing Dr. L’s face twisted into a scowl, “oh does he… Just what I need… Him getting in the way…” He walked away from Nathan, “if he thinks he can protect HIM then oh… I’m going to pluck him myself…” Dr. L’s voice was uncharacteristically harsh; whatever happened between them left some marks.

Jubi laughed, “oh so he’s still alive? I would’ve thought that HE would have gotten tired of the back talking…” She shook her head, staring at Nathan, “So what did he tell you?”

Nathan sat up, his arms still wobbly under his weight, “I... don’t…” He had been unable to recall anything but then the parting words echoed through his memory. “Don’t die on me Arrogant One…” He tried remembering more but only got sharp pains, “that really all I can remember… I’m sorry…”

Belladonna helped Nathan lay back down, “it’s all right, they shouldn’t be pressuring you so soon…” She shot a glare at Jubi, who was rather unconcerned for Nathan’s health.

Akuma entered the room carrying a larger figurine than normal. He sat it down on a corner table, and then joined the others.

“What did you make now Akuma?” Belladonna looked at the figurine, “that’s rather large for a Persona…” This figurine was easily five times the size of the other figurines he had made.

The figure was of a muscular male, the robe that flowed around him almost made him look Greek. The olive tone of its skin stood out against the sky blue robe. He had large wings that started out white but turned brown at the tips. Its shoulder length blond hair flowed around its face, contrasting to the blue eyes. The upper arms of the figurine were scarred, almost as if the tools of the artist slipped.

Akuma pointed to Nathan, it had been forged while Nathan was still comatose.

“But I’ve never seen it before, and I didn’t summon anything since the bus accident…” Nathan was confused, which only compounded the headache and fatigue.

Nameless chuckled, “whoever you met must have awakened his power, he is a primed Persona… a manifestation of your soul’s desire…” Nameless could feel the power emanating out of the figurine. “Granted you’d probably destroy yourself trying to pull him out anytime soon…”

“So that is the Arrogant One?” Dr. L had approached the figurine, “it is quite the resemblance…” Dr. L smiled gently, memories flowing back to him. “Father always admired him…”

Jubi tried to touch it but received a large shock knocking her down, “Ow, Son of a… Lock It up Akuma; if he shouldn’t use it then we can’t have it in the Velvet Room…” she glared at the figurine.

Dr. L chuckled at Jubi’s shock, “well, look at you actually caring about Nathan…” He smirked, even though he knew Jubi much better.

Jubi got up and dusted herself off, “oh shut it, I don’t want that eyesore in this room… Besides it’s been three days, shouldn’t he be getting home and doing his homework to make up for it?” She walked to the door, “the three days I will excuse since he was comatose but no more. He is awake, so he needs to do his work…” She pushed through the door, letting it slam shut.

Dr. L looked after Jubi, “oh child… when will you learn… Nathan I am sorry for her rudeness… you may stay in the guest room,” he gestured towards a door on the other side of the room. Motioning to the trio he talked softly, “they will ensure that you get there safely as well as watch over you overnight… don’t worry, if you don’t feel like you’ll be capable of going to school tomorrow I won’t force it…” He left through the door to catch Jubi.

Victor got up out of a chair in the corner, “she hates everyone but Dr. L… you’ll get used to it…” He wheeled over a wheelchair and helped Akuma move Nathan into it. “Do get rest tonight, you’ll need it badly…”

They wheeled Nathan to the bed and put him into it. Nathan’s body ached in protest to every movement. After he was situated the group left the room, Akuma leaving a Pyro Jack doll to serve as a nightlight and to retrieve them if needed.

The room was dark even though the sun had yet to set. The walls were a rich royal purple, black curtains hung over the windows. Very little hung on the walls, there was an attached bathroom but the cherry wood door was shut. Nathan tried to get as comfortable as possible but it took awhile for him to drift to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel Free to Interact, I am Looking to create a semblance of a community. Comments are appreciated, it will help me hone the story as well as help cover certain things I might not be explaining enough

**Author's Note:**

> Feel Free to Interact, I am Looking to create a semblance of a community. Comments are appreciated, it will help me hone the story as well as help cover certain things I might not be explaining enough


End file.
